To get the party started at our house, they sent a delicious sample kit of tomatoes, an insulated bag, and a $10 coupon to Laura's Lean Beef! I tell ya, I love the bag. Living as far in the sticks as I do, I needed a bag to help me keep my cold stuff cold on the drive home! My coupon for Laura's Lean Beef will be in my purse for our next trip to the cities.... so excited to try this line of products!

I also got a selection of Recipes from Red Gold Tomatoes. The one that caught our attention was the Grilled Cheesesteak Pizza. I have never tried grilling a pizza in any method, although I read of lots of people doing this. So... this was it, the push I needed. Let me tell you. LOVED IT! Perfect summer meal. I only had the stove on for 5-10 minutes, so this is a great way to keep the heat out of the house on hot days. Truckin' Man grilled up the steak for me while I prepped the veggies. I assembled the pizza, and on to the grill it went. I was a lil' bit nervous about it, but it was a success! We will definitely be grilling more pizza's this summer. Thanks to Red Gold Tomatoes for the great recipe and getting us to try something new!

Spread tomato paste onto crust. Top with tomato mixture, sliced steak, and cheese. Place pizza in grill (set at low heat) and close lid. Cook for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from grill and sprinkle with parsley, if desired.

Friday, June 12, 2015

Today is the big reveal day for Freaky Friday Recipe Swap! A group of fabulous bloggers, 19 of us, were assigned a blog to cook/bake from. Tons of delicious recipes were tested and are now being shared! It's been top secret, and today we all share! Fun, right?

I was assigned to a blog that was new to me, so it was really fun getting to know Angela at LeMoine Family Kitchen. Angela has so many amazing recipes, and she likes a lot of the same types of food that I do, so it was really hard narrowing down what to make for Freaky Friday!

I finally narrowed it down to two, and made them both. Sweet & Savory Pork Breakfast Bites, and Southern Hoe Cakes. Wow... what a delicious breakfast we had! I had been reading in several places lately about Hoe Cakes, so curiosity finally got me. They are kind of like a cross between corn bread and a pancake.
Definitely a dish that will be on our table again.

Then the Breakfast Bites... Oh my gosh. I haven't run into a recipe like this before, and it is going to be in the menu often. These bites are perfect for making ahead of time and reheating. I don't know about your house, but we need more options like that the way our mornings are! From the spice blend, to the honey sweetness, topped off by the apples mixed in. It really is the best breakfast meat, aside from my love of bacon, of course.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Winner is Carla! Congrats Carla...
Enjoy and please share with us how you and your family enjoy this cookbook!

I was thrilled when I was asked to do a cookbook review and a giveaway on Deep South Dish - Homestyle Southern Recipes by Mary Foreman. I adore southern food, so I was so excited when the cookbook came and I got to dig in and start reading and trying recipes.

Most of the southern cookbooks I own are from the Carolina area. Mary of Deep South Dish is from the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It was interesting to this midwest girl to see the differences in cooking. Some of the differences were in ingredients, yet what surprised me most is the preparation methods being different in others. Whether it is a regional difference, or Mary's style, I like it! The more new twists I saw, the more I kept reading to see what her spin was on other recipes.

In addition to being a cookbook author, Mary also blogs over at Deep South Dish. Mary's readers know that she is always bringing something delicious to the table. Her ingredients are easy to obtain for the most part. For some reason, here in rural Wisconsin, I can not find a decent cajun seasoning, so I have that on my shopping list for my trip to the "cities" in two weeks. Once I have that, there a whole other list of recipes I will be trying.

One thing I don't make a lot of at home is dishes with the whole chicken, because I just don't feel that I am good at them. So, when I found Southern-Style Baked Chicken (Page 130) in the cookbook, I knew I had to at least try it. Guess what? It rocked! First decent "whole" "bone-in" chicken I have made outside of the crockpot.

Next up was Grandma Mac's Southern Pound Cake (Page 200). So amazing! Ooh and the Mississippi Mud Cake (Page 204). I didn't have pecans in the house the day I made this, but still.... Amazing!

The recipe I want to share with you today is Mary's Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad. This is going to be my new go-to pasta salad. Simple and Flavorful.

To order a copy of Deep South Dish - Homestyle Southern Recipes by Mary Foreman, visit Amazon here.

To WIN your very own copy, leave a comment here telling me your favorite southern food, with your email address If you have never made a southern dish, just tell me your all time favorite food. That works too. For an additional entry, comment on this link on my facebook page.Open to U.S. residents only.Deadline: Friday, June 12th 6:00 pm.CSTWinner: I will randomly choose a winner and announce it at the top of this post, and on facebook. The winner will also be notified via email; if the winner does not respond within 72 hours, another winner will be selected.

Cut bacon into pieces, about 1/2 inch. In skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet with slotted spoon. Set aside on paper towel to cool.

In microwave safe bowl, lightly sprinkle grated carrot with water. Cover and cook on high for 2 minutes. Set aside to cool. Once cool, wrap the carrots inside of several paper towels, and squeeze out any liquid. Set aside.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

The theme for June's "Fill the Cookie Jar" is cookies that our dad would love. I was running REALLY far behind this month, and when I needed to decide on a recipe, my dad was out of town.... Ooops! So, I turned the decision making over to Truckin' Man. His suggestion was "chocolate chip". While chocolate chips are the best cookies, it wasn't one I felt inspired to bake recently.

Then I had a memory.... A bar I had pinned several years ago. Apparently almost 4 years ago. Has pinterest really been around that long? Wow time flies..!

Anyways.... I found the pin, and the link was dead. I was heartbroken. Don't tell me I can't have this recipe. Nothing like a dead end to get me obsessed with finding the recipe.

It took a bit. I ended up having to get creative on my surfing abilities, but I found the blog, and the recipe. Thank goodness!

Man Bars. Doesn't that sound like the perfect bar for celebrating Father's Day? From all the guys that sampled this bar today, the name fits. It's sweet and chocolaty, with the perfect graham cracker goodness that everyone loves!

Monday, June 1, 2015

We moved the location of our garden last year, and things didn't go so well.

We had a variety of things go right, and others go wrong.

We are hoping for great results this year!

After getting everything planted a couple weeks ago, we had days and days of rain, and cool temperatures. Which, while it was nice, it didn't go so well for some of our seeds. Yesterday we replanted pea's, spinach, and some beans. We are keeping weeds under control much better. High Five to Truckin' Man for getting us a tiller so we don't have to do all the work by hand. Lovin' it!

Just look at those clean rows, with all the beautiful plants!

It makes us so happy to have a good garden.

I will learn to love brussell sprouts, I will learn to love brussell sprouts, I will learn to love brussell sprouts.

Onions. Fresh farm the garden. Mmmm... Happy Dance!

And you know what really sends me into my happy dance? Fresh lettuce! I have three different varieties planted. We should be able to start enjoying them in just a couple more days!

And.... Our new addition this year.... Strawberries! So, excited. We planted bare root plants a week ago, and already are seeing tremendous growth. This is our first time ever growing them, so I am trying to not get overly excited in case we have a learning curve on these little plants... But... I can't help it... I get excited!